Intermittent calorie restriction alters T cell subsets and metabolic markers in people with multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND: Intermittent fasting or calorie restriction (CR) diets provide anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective advantages in models of multiple sclerosis (MS); data in humans are sparse. METHODS: ) T cell subsets including effector memory, central memory, and naïve cells. FINDINGS: : 10.11%; 95%CI: 3.30, 16.92%). No changes were observed for daily CR or weight-stable diets. Larger within-person changes in lysophospholipid and lysoplasmalogen metabolites in intermittent CR were associated with larger reductions in memory T cell subsets and larger increases in naïve T cell subsets. INTERPRETATION: In people with MS, an intermittent CR diet was associated with reduction in memory T cell subsets and certain biologically-relevant lipid markers. FUNDING: National MS Society, NIH, Johns Hopkins Catalyst Award.